Problem with my 410 cabinet: Mounting screw.

I'm getting a buzz in the top left speaker of my 410 cabinet when playing at gig-level volume. It's not projected through the speaker, just the speaker itself buzzing. I took off the grill and tried to make sure the speaker was securely mounted to the cabinet. I noticed that when I push on the outer mounting ring/plate/whatever the buzz stops, so I figured that's what needed to be done.

However, when trying to tighten down the mounting screws, one of them just spins in place. What can I do to fix this? Can I simply fill the hole with wood-glue, let it dry, and re-drill/screw?

What you're hearing is probably not the screw vibrating. It's the speaker rim vibrating in contact with the cabinet itself. Sometimes you can even get a farting sort of noise as air comes through that space.

I had this problem with my Avatar 112 Neo. The speaker was just held in with drywall screws. I love this cab, but this can be a serious problem.

Based on advice from other TBers I took my speaker out and replaced the drywall screws with T-Nuts and machine screws.

I had this problem with my Avatar 112 Neo. The speaker was just held in with drywall screws. I love this cab, but this can be a serious problem.

Based on advice from other TBers I took my speaker out and replaced the drywall screws with T-Nuts and machine screws.

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avatar uses DRYWALL SCREWS? gee, that is a fairly big deal, and one that i have never read about. i mean, how many more corners can they cut?

drywall screws get a good initial bite. but the coarseness of the threads (a) *will* make them loosen over time, especially when exposed to such force, and (b) make re-tightening or removal/replacement a destructive process--- eventually the wood *will* strip. remember that a small area of plywood (like that which is being fastened by a speaker screw) is actually fairly compressible. how many times have you seen, for example, screws "countersunk" by simply driving it in another turn and a half...

i am fairly shocked to learn this. and t-nuts arent exactly expensive, though obviously more so than drywall screws....

Sort of. T-nuts come in various diameters and depths. You want one similar in size to the hole currently in the cabinet, without being so large to fit into the hole for the speaker. Then you find a machine screw to fit the t-nut that is long enough to fasten through the speaker, the cabinet, and the nut. You actually would have a very hard time finding a screw that would be too long. It's much simpler than it sounds. Are you familiar with how t-nuts attach?

Yes. Take one of your screws along so you can buy the right size of T-nut and bolt. You will then have to drill a hole through the front of the cabinet at the location of the original screws (or you could rotate the speaker if you like so you drill fresh holes - shouldn't matter).

Next, you will have to pound in the T-nut into the back of the front panel and then make sure that the bolt easily passes through the hole and screws into the T-nut. Finally, attach the speaker.

I always check the threads of the T-nuts before buying them. Also, I recommend buying a few x-tras - they are worth having around and just in case something goes wrong during installation or you have another speaker loosen. Who knows, maybe you just want to do the same procedure for all of the speakers while your at it.

Good luck! I've mounted many speakers using T-nuts. They do a great job of holding speakers in place.

Be sure all the T-nuts are secure before you put the speaker in. There is a little-known corollary to Murphy's Law which states: "When you are installing a speaker, the last T-nut will fall into the cabinet when you insert the bolt."

I've never actually used one but from the looks of it, it would appear that when I screw into the t-nut, it pulls from the opposite side, gripping into the wood from the back.

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That's it. As Mojojim said, you can push it into place (might take a swift blow to knock it in). Please take pictures of your project and post 'em here for all to see. I'd like to see the hole the drywall screw pulled out of.

That's it. As Mojojim said, you can push it into place (might take a swift blow to knock it in). Please take pictures of your project and post 'em here for all to see. I'd like to see the hole the drywall screw pulled out of.

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Umm, I'm not sure if the Ampegs have drywall screws or not... The post mentioning those was talking about Avatar cabinets.

Here is a fix I did on an upgrade when the screw holes
didn't line up. I plugged all the holes with a solid dowel and
glue. The particle board was a little crumbly. Then I
marked and redrilled the holes.

Then I fitted the T's from the back. You will have to do it through the hole, but its easy.

You won't have to go that far though. But the picture showes the T nots socked
into place.

That's what I get for posting before lunch . Still, pics are always good

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I'll see what I can do. I have a pretty big show next Friday so my #1 priority is getting this fixed and quickly. I may go back afterwards and put in t-nuts for all of them. Unfortunately though I may need some hair-trimmers... the cabinets (even the faces under the grill) have the fuzzy carpeting

Well, I talked with Dino at Ampeg about my problem and he said it should already have T Nuts on it. But nope, no t nuts behind any of the speakers. Here's what I discovered when I removed the speaker:

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It looks like it was never screwed in straight in the first place and never had a firm grip on the wood. maybe it finally just shook loose from what little grip it had. Should I drill a hole angled back in the other direction so the screw will be secure?